Improvement in corn-planters



5 2' Sheets-Sheet 1.

D. J. ELY.

Corn-Planter.

Patented Dec. 19,- 1865.

r W J Jaw 4 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. D. J. ELY.

Corn-Planter.

No. 51,575. I Patented Dec. 19, 1865.

" ZZZ? UNITED STATES DAN J. ELY, OF ACTON, INDIANA.

IMPROVEMENT IN CORN-PLANTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 5 1,575, dated December 19, 1865.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAN J. ELY, of Acton, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Machine for Planting Corn, called Hoosier Corn-Planter and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective top view; Fig.2, a perspective bottom view. Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are sections.

A in Fig. 1 is a frame. B and B are the wheels; 0, the bottom D, the seat for the driver; E E, the corn-boxes. F is a-ratchet. G and L are levers for locking the wheel. H H are the levers for raising the plows over any obstacle. I is the tongue. J is a cast with cavities for the inside of the wheels. K K are these cavities. M M are the stops for the lever L to catch on. P Q are connecting-rods between the slides B S and R S, and R S are the slides. T Uare levers, fastened in the center,

which work the connecting-rods P Q. V V are traces. W is a cross-piece, to which the cornboxes E E and the plows are fastened. X is the lever by means of which the slides S and R are prevented from pressing against the wheels, which results in the entire stopping of corn-dropping. Z Z are the plows. C and D are the movable axles, with the rollers E E. a and b are the springs. 61 d (I dare the flanges, fastened to the wheels for the purpose of marking where the corn dropped. 0 is a pointer for regulating the distance of the corn in the rows.

The nature of my invention consists in constructing a corn-planter which will plant corn so that it can be plowed both ways.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

I construct my frame in any of the usual ways, and place two wheels, B and B inside of it. One of these wheels, B, is firmly attached to the axle, the other revolving around it. These wheels have cavities K K in their casts J J, and also flanges d d d d. I then fasten the cross-piece W firmly to the frame A and place my corn-boxes E E upon this piece. I then fasten the bottom piece, 0, unto the center part of my machine and place my seat D upon it also, the lever X, with its fork, which will, if desired, stop the slides R S by preventing their rollers E E from playing into the cavities K K. I then attach my plows Z Z to the under side of the cross-piece W by means of the traces V V and chains H H. I provide the cross-piece W with two holes and put small boxes or measures into them. One side of these measures is hung on hinges in such a manner that it can be pushed over by one of the slides, whereby the measure is extended, as shown in Fig. 5. I fasten the chutes to the bottom side of the holes g and place my slides R S in such a way that they will open and close these holes alternately. I then put in the center of each of these slides P Q a lever, T U, and put two springs, a and b, to the under side of the cross-piece W These springs are fastened with one end to this piece W and with the other to the movable axles G and D. These axles and the rollers E E are so placed and fastened that they will work into the cavities K K on the cast J J in the wheels B and B I then put up my stop-lever G and L, by means of which I can regulate the starting-point of the dropping corn. I then attach levers H H to chains which extend down to the plows, and so enable the driver to lift the plows over any obstaclesuch as stump or rock, 860. I then put up the pointer e, which regulates the distance between the rows of corn, and also assists in regulating the starting-point for the dropping corn. I provide measures or small boxes, which I place into the holes g, for the corn to drop into them. These measures are provided with one straight side, which is hung on hinges and swings open, when the slide S catches it, thereby extending the space for the corn to drop and prevent it from choking. I also provide the hub of wheel B with a ratchet, which (playing on the axles B) will make the two wheels B and B move uniformly, while it will, in turning, move backward while the wheel B moves forward.

Operation When this corn-planter is in motion the rollers E E, with their slides G and D, play upon the inside of the wheels B and B and whenever the wheels have made one revolution the rollers will drop into the cavities K K on the cast J J. This result being alternately, one roller will cause its respective slide (with which it is connected) to close the hole at the bottom side of corn-box E, while the other will be open and permit the corn to drop into the chute and plow, and from there unto the ground. The wheels, passing over it, will press it down, and the flanges d d d (1 will indicate where the corn lies. The wheel B which revolves around the axle B, is provided with a ratchet at the inside of the hub, in such a manner as to allow it to move backward independent of the wheel B, while, when moved forward, the ratchet will compel itto move, together with the axle and opposite wheel, so that when I turn around my planter the wheel B Willmove forward while the wheel B will move backward until the desired position is obtained for the planter to proceed in a new row. The pointer 0 will indicate the distance between two rows of corn, and will assist in regulating the dropping corn. The distance between the dropped corn is, of course, regulated by the size of the wheels.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

The casts J J in the wheels B and B with their cavities K K and flanges d d, the slides DAN J. ELY.

Witnesses: Y

J NO. L. SMITHMYER, WM. SULLIVAN. 

